Edinburgh 2006 (and a shameless plug)
Posted by: Tam on 04 August 2006
Since my earlier thread has fallen victim to the forum's automatic locking (please change this!), I thought that rather than bother the moderators with an e-mail, I would start a new one).
However, the reason I have started this thread now (and not next week, or to be more precise a week on Monday, when all my frantic concert going starts) is that I wanted to shamelessly plug something else Edinburgh related on the Fringe (the nearly parallel fesitval where pretty well anyone who can stump up the cash can turn up and put on a show - though it has now become rather dominated by the trade show that might better be termed the Edinburgh Comedy festival!). Anyway, I volunteer at one of the Fringe venues - Venue 40 (or the Quaker Meeting House the rest of year). Staffed entirely by volunteers with all the profits going to various charities, may I direct forum members to its website where you can see more about the venue, the charities we're raising money for, and, of course, our programme. May I also apologise if this flouts the forum rules (please feel free to delete this paragraph if it does - however, I know others have plugged various musical things here before and this is not a million miles away - and it's for charity).
Back on topic.....
I will not post links to the festival again (they can be found on the old thread).
As I have noted there and elsewhere I shall be going to far too much (indeed, something every night bar the opening concert - Strauss's Electra didn't grab me). Highlights will include the Mackerras/SCO/Philharmonia Beethoven symphony cycle and the Rattle/BPO Mahler 4. Having heard his CD I am a little less convinced the Abbado Magic flute is going to be wonderful, I am also wondering whether booking all nine of Bruckner's symphonies may not have been a terrible mistake.
As with last year I shall try to post my thoughts on all I attend. If any members are going to anything at the International Festival and would like to meet up, please get in touch.
regards, Tam
However, the reason I have started this thread now (and not next week, or to be more precise a week on Monday, when all my frantic concert going starts) is that I wanted to shamelessly plug something else Edinburgh related on the Fringe (the nearly parallel fesitval where pretty well anyone who can stump up the cash can turn up and put on a show - though it has now become rather dominated by the trade show that might better be termed the Edinburgh Comedy festival!). Anyway, I volunteer at one of the Fringe venues - Venue 40 (or the Quaker Meeting House the rest of year). Staffed entirely by volunteers with all the profits going to various charities, may I direct forum members to its website where you can see more about the venue, the charities we're raising money for, and, of course, our programme. May I also apologise if this flouts the forum rules (please feel free to delete this paragraph if it does - however, I know others have plugged various musical things here before and this is not a million miles away - and it's for charity).
Back on topic.....
I will not post links to the festival again (they can be found on the old thread).
As I have noted there and elsewhere I shall be going to far too much (indeed, something every night bar the opening concert - Strauss's Electra didn't grab me). Highlights will include the Mackerras/SCO/Philharmonia Beethoven symphony cycle and the Rattle/BPO Mahler 4. Having heard his CD I am a little less convinced the Abbado Magic flute is going to be wonderful, I am also wondering whether booking all nine of Bruckner's symphonies may not have been a terrible mistake.
As with last year I shall try to post my thoughts on all I attend. If any members are going to anything at the International Festival and would like to meet up, please get in touch.
regards, Tam
Posted on: 26 August 2006 by Tam
Dear Ian,
I will post more thoughts tomorrow (Bruckner under Runnicles was also wonderful, but am rather tired now). However, I doubt there will be much that does it more justice than your WOW. Then energy and pace with which he aged nearly 81 took that finale was staggering.
However, as the CDs go, two points, first the cycle is at most £15. Secondly, if Fredrik is reading this, I believe he has your e-mail address so if would pass on mine or vice versa, I have a suggestion.
Lastly (and for legal reasons bearing no relation to the previous paragraph) I can only remind people to tune their wirelesses to Radio 3 in early September when these are broadcast.
regards, Tam
I will post more thoughts tomorrow (Bruckner under Runnicles was also wonderful, but am rather tired now). However, I doubt there will be much that does it more justice than your WOW. Then energy and pace with which he aged nearly 81 took that finale was staggering.
However, as the CDs go, two points, first the cycle is at most £15. Secondly, if Fredrik is reading this, I believe he has your e-mail address so if would pass on mine or vice versa, I have a suggestion.
Lastly (and for legal reasons bearing no relation to the previous paragraph) I can only remind people to tune their wirelesses to Radio 3 in early September when these are broadcast.
regards, Tam
Posted on: 28 August 2006 by Tam
I don't know how much I can really add to Ian's WOW in describing the Beethoven 7th. Probably my favourite of all the symphonies. I first met it in a stunning, edge of the seat kind of reading given by Daniel Harding and the Bremen chamber orchestra he was about to leave (indeed, this at the Maltings was their penultimate concert together). I will not describe again (as I think I have done so several times here before), but suffice to say it set the bar very high indeed and I have always been chasing down that perfect reading on CD, especially one with as energetic a finale. I have not yet been sucessful (though several have come very close).
Suffice to say Mackerras and the SCO more than rose to the challenge in what was possibly the highlight of the series so far. The way he held the tension with the solo flute just before the main theme comes in the first movement. The joy of the third movement. But the 4th movement astonished even me. I don't think I've ever heard it so fast, and the energy on display (given he's approaching his 81st birthday) was staggering. This the more interesting because for the most part I think he's been taking things that bit slower than his RLPO cycle on disc. However, it really was quite something.
Next up came Runnicles and the BBC Scottish for Bruckner 6 (interestingly, or perhaps not, Runnicles had earlier been in the audience for the Beethoven). In some ways, this only hightened my regret that the Orchestra of St Luke's weren't able to make it.
He went at the Bruckner in a way I wasn't really expecting (this was not the biting tension of Herbig in the third) but something altogether more subtle, but no less compelling. The adagio in particular was beautifully lyrical.
There was a lovely moment in the finale when Runnicles was almost dancing on the podium and one could hear the orchestra dancing with him (this in marked contrast to some of the performances I've heard in recent days when the connect between the movements of the conductor and the sound heard is altogether more vague).
For me it was the highlight of the Bruckners so far (and well worth tuning in for when broadcast). And further indication, if any was needed, of what a fine conductor Runnicles is and why it's a crying shame he works so much in the states (well, good if your live out there, obviously, but I'm being selfish) and doesn't have a bigger discography. The orchestra seemed to have greatly enjoyed working with him too (they certain cheered and applauded him most enthusiastically).
It also served to indicate just how subjective these things can be - the power and impact that he conjoured for the final bars was really something. But I was reminded that we'd heard the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra do the same piece last year, which prompted me to dig out my comments:
A year on and I find how wrong I was - only going to show what a difference an interpretation can make.
Sunday night saw Beethoven 8 (and the penultimate appearance of the SCO in this cycle). I have recently raved about Colin Davis's epic reading (almost Mahlerian approach to this work - I don't mean it sounds like Mahler, more that his reading drains in the same way and has a similar feeling of distance travelled). Mackerras comes from another direction entirely. Much brisker but none the less very satisfying. One of the things that really struck me is that in a symphony that is often seen as a soft of safe filler between 7 and 9 (and somewhat neglected as a result), was how dangerous Mackerras made the work feel. That and the extraordinary playing of the principle cello in the minuet.
However the star of the evening was NOT Mackerras. The middle concert (and, of which more later, in a poor piece of programming) was Messiaen's Des Canyons aux Etoiles (From the Canyons to the Stars). And how utterly extraordinary it was too. The Netherlands Youth Orchestra were conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw with Benjamin Kobler on the piano and William Pervis on the horn.
The work paints a portrait of various American national parks (and the wildlife, especially the birdlife within), expecially the canyons and the stars above. It also has a strong spiritual dimension (like much of his writing). It's really difficult to describe it without reciting the programme note in full (which I'm not about to do). However, it was a profound experience and one of the finest things I've heard this year (I may start a thread on it soon, in order to ask for help picking out a recording).
The playing was wonderful (and I was very glad I've recently been exploring his catalogue of bird music for solo piano). There is a slow movement for solo horn, meant to represent outer space (titled 'interstellar call'). The way he mixes the brilliance and beauty with the emptyness is staggering and, to my ears, puts Holst's attempts to show this into the shade.
There is some wonderfully clever orchestration (indeed, the strings are very sparse and percussion in some regards steals the show) - some of the wind effects were extraordinary. However, unlike the Strauss from the Budapest orchestra the other evening (where you felt it was very nearly scored for everything up to and including kitchen sink), here there was a clarity to the writing - he blended his instruments masterfully and it never felt like too much.
At an hour and a half it's long (and too much for some, who left), but most seemed to know what they were letting themselves in for and were as impressed as we were (not least by the wonderful playing of the young musicians).
However, it's the kind of work where at the end you almost feel you never want to hear another note of anything, and certainly not the Bruckner 7 due to start in half an hour. In this regard it was poor programming and not really suitable to fill the space between Beethoven and Bruckner - would that it had been given an evening to itself.
And so to Bruckner. I'm no hugh fan of the 7th (I think I prefer 6 or even 1) but it does have some lovely writing. And while Flors and the RSNO played very well (indeed, I have been struck how much better the orchestra have played for both their guests than they do their chief conductor - see the 4th). However it lacked fire and didn't quite come off. Perhaps I am judging unfairly though for whenever the music stopped it was the the Messiaen I could hear ringing in my ears.
Tonight (and indeed tomorrow) it is a break from music in the form of a two hour Latvian play with no real spoken dialogue. Called "long life" and portraying a day in the lives of 5 pensioners I felt that while amusing in places it was about an hour and a half too long and, frankly, I felt it was a Fringe show (this is not meant as an insult - I've seen many wonderful things at the Fringe over the years - just that the International Festival does it's own thing very well and things that can be done well on the Fringe are best left to it). Still, other people I know have raved about it so it's on in the Hub for the next few days if that takes your fancy.
regards, Tam
Suffice to say Mackerras and the SCO more than rose to the challenge in what was possibly the highlight of the series so far. The way he held the tension with the solo flute just before the main theme comes in the first movement. The joy of the third movement. But the 4th movement astonished even me. I don't think I've ever heard it so fast, and the energy on display (given he's approaching his 81st birthday) was staggering. This the more interesting because for the most part I think he's been taking things that bit slower than his RLPO cycle on disc. However, it really was quite something.
Next up came Runnicles and the BBC Scottish for Bruckner 6 (interestingly, or perhaps not, Runnicles had earlier been in the audience for the Beethoven). In some ways, this only hightened my regret that the Orchestra of St Luke's weren't able to make it.
He went at the Bruckner in a way I wasn't really expecting (this was not the biting tension of Herbig in the third) but something altogether more subtle, but no less compelling. The adagio in particular was beautifully lyrical.
There was a lovely moment in the finale when Runnicles was almost dancing on the podium and one could hear the orchestra dancing with him (this in marked contrast to some of the performances I've heard in recent days when the connect between the movements of the conductor and the sound heard is altogether more vague).
For me it was the highlight of the Bruckners so far (and well worth tuning in for when broadcast). And further indication, if any was needed, of what a fine conductor Runnicles is and why it's a crying shame he works so much in the states (well, good if your live out there, obviously, but I'm being selfish) and doesn't have a bigger discography. The orchestra seemed to have greatly enjoyed working with him too (they certain cheered and applauded him most enthusiastically).
It also served to indicate just how subjective these things can be - the power and impact that he conjoured for the final bars was really something. But I was reminded that we'd heard the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra do the same piece last year, which prompted me to dig out my comments:
quote:
The second half was a good reading of Bruckner 6. Sadly the work suffers from the same problem as much of his writing, namely it gets a little repetitive at times, it is also one of his many works in which he neglected to save the best for last. That said, if you get the chance, go and see this lot.
A year on and I find how wrong I was - only going to show what a difference an interpretation can make.
Sunday night saw Beethoven 8 (and the penultimate appearance of the SCO in this cycle). I have recently raved about Colin Davis's epic reading (almost Mahlerian approach to this work - I don't mean it sounds like Mahler, more that his reading drains in the same way and has a similar feeling of distance travelled). Mackerras comes from another direction entirely. Much brisker but none the less very satisfying. One of the things that really struck me is that in a symphony that is often seen as a soft of safe filler between 7 and 9 (and somewhat neglected as a result), was how dangerous Mackerras made the work feel. That and the extraordinary playing of the principle cello in the minuet.
However the star of the evening was NOT Mackerras. The middle concert (and, of which more later, in a poor piece of programming) was Messiaen's Des Canyons aux Etoiles (From the Canyons to the Stars). And how utterly extraordinary it was too. The Netherlands Youth Orchestra were conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw with Benjamin Kobler on the piano and William Pervis on the horn.
The work paints a portrait of various American national parks (and the wildlife, especially the birdlife within), expecially the canyons and the stars above. It also has a strong spiritual dimension (like much of his writing). It's really difficult to describe it without reciting the programme note in full (which I'm not about to do). However, it was a profound experience and one of the finest things I've heard this year (I may start a thread on it soon, in order to ask for help picking out a recording).
The playing was wonderful (and I was very glad I've recently been exploring his catalogue of bird music for solo piano). There is a slow movement for solo horn, meant to represent outer space (titled 'interstellar call'). The way he mixes the brilliance and beauty with the emptyness is staggering and, to my ears, puts Holst's attempts to show this into the shade.
There is some wonderfully clever orchestration (indeed, the strings are very sparse and percussion in some regards steals the show) - some of the wind effects were extraordinary. However, unlike the Strauss from the Budapest orchestra the other evening (where you felt it was very nearly scored for everything up to and including kitchen sink), here there was a clarity to the writing - he blended his instruments masterfully and it never felt like too much.
At an hour and a half it's long (and too much for some, who left), but most seemed to know what they were letting themselves in for and were as impressed as we were (not least by the wonderful playing of the young musicians).
However, it's the kind of work where at the end you almost feel you never want to hear another note of anything, and certainly not the Bruckner 7 due to start in half an hour. In this regard it was poor programming and not really suitable to fill the space between Beethoven and Bruckner - would that it had been given an evening to itself.
And so to Bruckner. I'm no hugh fan of the 7th (I think I prefer 6 or even 1) but it does have some lovely writing. And while Flors and the RSNO played very well (indeed, I have been struck how much better the orchestra have played for both their guests than they do their chief conductor - see the 4th). However it lacked fire and didn't quite come off. Perhaps I am judging unfairly though for whenever the music stopped it was the the Messiaen I could hear ringing in my ears.
Tonight (and indeed tomorrow) it is a break from music in the form of a two hour Latvian play with no real spoken dialogue. Called "long life" and portraying a day in the lives of 5 pensioners I felt that while amusing in places it was about an hour and a half too long and, frankly, I felt it was a Fringe show (this is not meant as an insult - I've seen many wonderful things at the Fringe over the years - just that the International Festival does it's own thing very well and things that can be done well on the Fringe are best left to it). Still, other people I know have raved about it so it's on in the Hub for the next few days if that takes your fancy.
regards, Tam
Posted on: 31 August 2006 by Tam
Well, Tuesday night saw an evening of theatre so bad it almost defies description. Fortunately, several reviews have done it rather nicely:
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14936-2335135,00.html
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cf9c7ca2-388c-11db-ae2c-0000779e2340.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml;jsessionid=1...6/08/31/btchas31.xml
After a first half of interminable boredom (not to mention the fact I didn't think any of the sistems seemed to care much that they weren't getting to Moscow), I wondered if the awfulness of the acting and direction was a deliberate attempt at farce. I'm sure this wasn't the case, but it did at least make the second half more enjoyable, indeed, very funny. And I suspect that it is my laughs (as much as anyone's) that one or two other reviewers have taken issue with. The Metro (our free paper up here) called me a 'moron' while the Guardian went for philistine. Personally I think cast and director alike where rather lucky they weren't on the Fringe as they would have been heckled to death (the script and performance provided one golden opportunity after another and it was only with great restraint that I didn't take them).
Fortunatley, things returned to form with last night's Beethoven and the final from the SCO. They have played wonderfully for this series and did so once again. Mackerras conducted a superb first (perhaps the finest I have heard). There was some extraordinary string playing in the third movement and the most witty reading of the finale I can imagine. The Philharmonia are on duty for the 9th tomorrow. I can't wait.
Later in the evening, Blomstedt led the Philharmonia in Bruckner 8. I must say I found the playing a little ropey in places (strings and timpany were outstanding but there were too many fluffed entries from the horns). I didn't really warm to Blomstedt's reading. The first two movements were nothing special one way or the other but he really lost me in the third - all the beauty seemed to be lost and it seemed interminable. Indeed, the whole thing lacked tension. By the time the finale came, I must confess I was probably a little past caring. However, I was alone (save for the handfull who had walked out), as everyone I went with loved it and the cheers rang out very loudly.
I wondered later how much of this is down to edition - he used the earlier Nowak (1887, I think). My favourite reading of the work is from Furtwangler using the Haus edition which, it seems, is frowned upon these days. Then again, it strikes me that issues of eidition alone shouldn't hold a work from being convincing. Either way, it makes me want to listen to the various ones I have on disk again.
Tonight it's Rattle and the BPO with Mahler 4.
regards, Tam
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,14936-2335135,00.html
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cf9c7ca2-388c-11db-ae2c-0000779e2340.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml;jsessionid=1...6/08/31/btchas31.xml
After a first half of interminable boredom (not to mention the fact I didn't think any of the sistems seemed to care much that they weren't getting to Moscow), I wondered if the awfulness of the acting and direction was a deliberate attempt at farce. I'm sure this wasn't the case, but it did at least make the second half more enjoyable, indeed, very funny. And I suspect that it is my laughs (as much as anyone's) that one or two other reviewers have taken issue with. The Metro (our free paper up here) called me a 'moron' while the Guardian went for philistine. Personally I think cast and director alike where rather lucky they weren't on the Fringe as they would have been heckled to death (the script and performance provided one golden opportunity after another and it was only with great restraint that I didn't take them).
Fortunatley, things returned to form with last night's Beethoven and the final from the SCO. They have played wonderfully for this series and did so once again. Mackerras conducted a superb first (perhaps the finest I have heard). There was some extraordinary string playing in the third movement and the most witty reading of the finale I can imagine. The Philharmonia are on duty for the 9th tomorrow. I can't wait.
Later in the evening, Blomstedt led the Philharmonia in Bruckner 8. I must say I found the playing a little ropey in places (strings and timpany were outstanding but there were too many fluffed entries from the horns). I didn't really warm to Blomstedt's reading. The first two movements were nothing special one way or the other but he really lost me in the third - all the beauty seemed to be lost and it seemed interminable. Indeed, the whole thing lacked tension. By the time the finale came, I must confess I was probably a little past caring. However, I was alone (save for the handfull who had walked out), as everyone I went with loved it and the cheers rang out very loudly.
I wondered later how much of this is down to edition - he used the earlier Nowak (1887, I think). My favourite reading of the work is from Furtwangler using the Haus edition which, it seems, is frowned upon these days. Then again, it strikes me that issues of eidition alone shouldn't hold a work from being convincing. Either way, it makes me want to listen to the various ones I have on disk again.
Tonight it's Rattle and the BPO with Mahler 4.
regards, Tam
Posted on: 31 August 2006 by Tam
Rattle and the Berliners were superb (more tomorrow as I have to get some sleep).
However, Ian (and indeed anyone else), if you're reading this, HMV will send you the Mackerras cycle for just £8:
http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=97;9;-1;-1&sku=784441
regards, Tam
However, Ian (and indeed anyone else), if you're reading this, HMV will send you the Mackerras cycle for just £8:
http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=97;9;-1;-1&sku=784441
regards, Tam
Posted on: 01 September 2006 by Ian G.
Thanks for the tip off re: HMV, Tam.
My last two festival outings have been Balanchine's Don Quixote Ballet and The Nederlands Dans Theater.
The D.Q. was visually extravagant and well presented. Ballet lovers loved it, for me, as is often the case with classical ballet, the story line is too simple and too drawn out to hold my attention. The Music by Nabukov was good though.
Much more my cup of tea was the modern NDT show last night. This is a stunner. Grace, beauty, excellent multimedia usage of film, spot on music extraordinary athleticism, wit. If you like modern dance at all and can see this troupe don't miss out. We're almost thinking of queuing for 2 of the 50 seats held back for sale 1 hour before the show just to see it all over again tonight - but that would be selfish!
Ian
My last two festival outings have been Balanchine's Don Quixote Ballet and The Nederlands Dans Theater.
The D.Q. was visually extravagant and well presented. Ballet lovers loved it, for me, as is often the case with classical ballet, the story line is too simple and too drawn out to hold my attention. The Music by Nabukov was good though.
Much more my cup of tea was the modern NDT show last night. This is a stunner. Grace, beauty, excellent multimedia usage of film, spot on music extraordinary athleticism, wit. If you like modern dance at all and can see this troupe don't miss out. We're almost thinking of queuing for 2 of the 50 seats held back for sale 1 hour before the show just to see it all over again tonight - but that would be selfish!
Ian
Posted on: 01 September 2006 by Tam
Dear Ian,
I went to a rather wonderful piece of dance last year (not a huge fan of the ballet though - and even someone I know who isn't wasn't overly wowed by DQ), however, I managed not to book any this time round. I think next year I'm going to go to slightly less concerts and slightly more other stuff (I think a break in the middle of week two would be no bad thing either).
However, the Berliners last night were quite extraordinary (and worth the slightly inflated seat prices). All this nonsense that some insist on writing to the effect that they're not much good any more is just that. Not quite the same visual spectacle that the Cleveland orchestra presented two years ago, but the quality of the sounds they produced and the musicianship on display really was something (what a shame those morons from MacDonald Orr kept chattering, until a woman who was sitting closer than I had firm words - I don't know what they sell, but I intend to make a point of not buying it).
The first half was Szymanowski's violin concerto. Not a work I have ever heard before (either live or on disc) and, to be honest, not, I think one of the greatest ever written. But they played it absolutely wonderfully. In particular, praise must go to Frank Peter Zimmermann who played superbly (and never got in the way of the music). Indeed, after the main piece we got a real treat as he played an encore of (I think) one part of one of Bach's suites for solo violin (or possibly one of the partitas). I was also impressed by the self-effacing way Rattle perched himself on the rostrum of the timpany to listen - indeed, thoughout the night, I was reminded just how silly the 'simon von rattle' series of articles were in this regard. I recommend their prom programme on Sunday to forum members which features the same work with the same soloist.
However, the real highlight came after the interval. I will admit to not being a universal fan of Rattle's and have, more than once here, been unkind to his Beethoven in particular. But where he is good he has, to my ears, few rivals. Mahler is one of those areas and the 4th on of my favourites (though I do not know his recording at all).
I was struck, especially in the first movement, by how fresh he made it sound. I wondered if a different edition was being used as I seem to remember slightly more sleigh bells. There was a real lightness to the movement and also a freshness (in some ways it sounded like I'd not heard it before). The rest was similarly magical - especially those final chords of the slow movement. The finale was judge to perfection (and the effect of them fading up the house lights just before, so we could read our texts, added a certain something). I'm not absolutely convinced of Lisa Milne's voice (it seemed a little uneven early on), however, by the final verse she had me convinced and the way her voice faded away as if the beauty of heaven were impossible to describe at the end was about as fine as I ever expect to hear it.
All in all wonderful stuff. Suffice to say that my video will be set for tonight and tomorrow's proms and I hope they return to Edinburgh soon.
regards, Tam
p.s. Off now to Mackerras and the Philharmonia for Beethoven 9.
I went to a rather wonderful piece of dance last year (not a huge fan of the ballet though - and even someone I know who isn't wasn't overly wowed by DQ), however, I managed not to book any this time round. I think next year I'm going to go to slightly less concerts and slightly more other stuff (I think a break in the middle of week two would be no bad thing either).
However, the Berliners last night were quite extraordinary (and worth the slightly inflated seat prices). All this nonsense that some insist on writing to the effect that they're not much good any more is just that. Not quite the same visual spectacle that the Cleveland orchestra presented two years ago, but the quality of the sounds they produced and the musicianship on display really was something (what a shame those morons from MacDonald Orr kept chattering, until a woman who was sitting closer than I had firm words - I don't know what they sell, but I intend to make a point of not buying it).
The first half was Szymanowski's violin concerto. Not a work I have ever heard before (either live or on disc) and, to be honest, not, I think one of the greatest ever written. But they played it absolutely wonderfully. In particular, praise must go to Frank Peter Zimmermann who played superbly (and never got in the way of the music). Indeed, after the main piece we got a real treat as he played an encore of (I think) one part of one of Bach's suites for solo violin (or possibly one of the partitas). I was also impressed by the self-effacing way Rattle perched himself on the rostrum of the timpany to listen - indeed, thoughout the night, I was reminded just how silly the 'simon von rattle' series of articles were in this regard. I recommend their prom programme on Sunday to forum members which features the same work with the same soloist.
However, the real highlight came after the interval. I will admit to not being a universal fan of Rattle's and have, more than once here, been unkind to his Beethoven in particular. But where he is good he has, to my ears, few rivals. Mahler is one of those areas and the 4th on of my favourites (though I do not know his recording at all).
I was struck, especially in the first movement, by how fresh he made it sound. I wondered if a different edition was being used as I seem to remember slightly more sleigh bells. There was a real lightness to the movement and also a freshness (in some ways it sounded like I'd not heard it before). The rest was similarly magical - especially those final chords of the slow movement. The finale was judge to perfection (and the effect of them fading up the house lights just before, so we could read our texts, added a certain something). I'm not absolutely convinced of Lisa Milne's voice (it seemed a little uneven early on), however, by the final verse she had me convinced and the way her voice faded away as if the beauty of heaven were impossible to describe at the end was about as fine as I ever expect to hear it.
All in all wonderful stuff. Suffice to say that my video will be set for tonight and tomorrow's proms and I hope they return to Edinburgh soon.
regards, Tam
p.s. Off now to Mackerras and the Philharmonia for Beethoven 9.
Posted on: 01 September 2006 by Tam
Well, tonight's Beethoven 9th was very fine indeed. Mackerras opts for pretty brisk tempi (as he has done throughout, and in this work for reasons very well laid out in his liner note for the cd set). What moved me most was the wonderful second movement which he played with a lightness of touch that I have rarely if ever associated with it - more usually it is heavy and serious (and too often ponderous). The slow movement was lovely, and those key chords I have gone on at lenght about on the Beethoven thread sent shivers down my spine.
The only reservation comes with the finale. Not anything to do with the conducting or the orchestral playing (the Philharmonia were wonderful, especially their string playing and timpanist - I was also impressed by how much better the horns were than for Blomstedt the other night). Indeed, they proved exactly why Michael Tummulty writing in the Herald was so wrong when he complained the SCO should have done this. The Philharmonia provided a larger and richer sound so utterly different to the smaller band (and so sucessful in this work) that could never have been achieved. And anyway, to augment the SCO sufficiently would have wiped away much of its charm. No, the reservations concern the Chorus (the soloists were broadly speaking fine, especially alto Catherine Wyn-Rogers). I have said before that the Festival Chorus are not first rate, indeed, I do not even think they are close to being the finest chorus in Scotland (the SCO one is wonderful, though would have been too small, the Edinburgh Choral Union are great), however, it was a terrible shame the Philharmonia didn't bring their own chorus. The diction was poor and the was a slight lack of clarity. However, it wasn't awful, and the direction and playing more than made up for it. However, it does make the quotes in the programme seem faitly ironic: "one of the three great choirs of Europe" says Herbert von Karajan (it must be a little while since he was in a position to judge!).
I feel supremely lucky to have had the chance to hear Mackerras conduct all these symphonies and it really has a dream come true. I can't recommend them highly enough when they come to be broadcast. The freshness he has brought to these works (along with an energy that would be beyond many half his age) has really been something.
The Bruckner series didn't end quite so convincingly. It was interesting to hear Belohlavek conducting the BBC Symphony (and I must say that I think the orchestra have been somewhat unfairly maligned in the press as they played well). However, his conducting suffered from many of the problems I noticed when he did Mahler 9 last year, albeit with the RSNO. The first 15 minutes or so didn't really hang together and thus the first movement dragged rather. The scherzo is one of Bruckner's finest, in my view, and they played it very well. As they did the lovely adagio, which I especially enjoy for all the Wagnerian 'influence', especially from Tristan.
Still, I do wonder if I've been burning the candle at rather too many ends and will be more than glad of a lengthy lie in on Sunday.
Tomorrow morning the Belceas (or most of them, Mrs Belcea is heavily pregnant and has cried off) followed by Abbado's Magic Flute in the evening.
regards, Tam
p.s. It appears I have led forum members astray and Rattle's Saturday prom is not being televised after all - it appears that when the BBC say they're doing the last three weeks what they mean is the last three weeks but not the weekends!
The only reservation comes with the finale. Not anything to do with the conducting or the orchestral playing (the Philharmonia were wonderful, especially their string playing and timpanist - I was also impressed by how much better the horns were than for Blomstedt the other night). Indeed, they proved exactly why Michael Tummulty writing in the Herald was so wrong when he complained the SCO should have done this. The Philharmonia provided a larger and richer sound so utterly different to the smaller band (and so sucessful in this work) that could never have been achieved. And anyway, to augment the SCO sufficiently would have wiped away much of its charm. No, the reservations concern the Chorus (the soloists were broadly speaking fine, especially alto Catherine Wyn-Rogers). I have said before that the Festival Chorus are not first rate, indeed, I do not even think they are close to being the finest chorus in Scotland (the SCO one is wonderful, though would have been too small, the Edinburgh Choral Union are great), however, it was a terrible shame the Philharmonia didn't bring their own chorus. The diction was poor and the was a slight lack of clarity. However, it wasn't awful, and the direction and playing more than made up for it. However, it does make the quotes in the programme seem faitly ironic: "one of the three great choirs of Europe" says Herbert von Karajan (it must be a little while since he was in a position to judge!).
I feel supremely lucky to have had the chance to hear Mackerras conduct all these symphonies and it really has a dream come true. I can't recommend them highly enough when they come to be broadcast. The freshness he has brought to these works (along with an energy that would be beyond many half his age) has really been something.
The Bruckner series didn't end quite so convincingly. It was interesting to hear Belohlavek conducting the BBC Symphony (and I must say that I think the orchestra have been somewhat unfairly maligned in the press as they played well). However, his conducting suffered from many of the problems I noticed when he did Mahler 9 last year, albeit with the RSNO. The first 15 minutes or so didn't really hang together and thus the first movement dragged rather. The scherzo is one of Bruckner's finest, in my view, and they played it very well. As they did the lovely adagio, which I especially enjoy for all the Wagnerian 'influence', especially from Tristan.
Still, I do wonder if I've been burning the candle at rather too many ends and will be more than glad of a lengthy lie in on Sunday.
Tomorrow morning the Belceas (or most of them, Mrs Belcea is heavily pregnant and has cried off) followed by Abbado's Magic Flute in the evening.
regards, Tam
p.s. It appears I have led forum members astray and Rattle's Saturday prom is not being televised after all - it appears that when the BBC say they're doing the last three weeks what they mean is the last three weeks but not the weekends!
Posted on: 03 September 2006 by Tam
Well, the festival is over for another year (at least, excluding the fireworks concert) with an interesting couple of final concerts.
Yesterday morning I made it to the Queen's Hall for the first time this festival (save for my visit during the Jazz festival a few weeks back) to hear the Belcea quarted. Well, almost (Mrs Belcea had cried out as she is currently heavily pregnant). However we did get Britten's wonderful Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe, brilliantly played by Stefan Schilli (even if I did feel the need to close my eyes quite a bit). This was then followed by the even fine Phantasy for oboe and string trio. I am already a fan of the Belcea's recordings of the Britten QTs and this disappointed (indeed, I hope they have, or do, record it). A large one movement work, it comes full cicle at the end to finish where it started - it really was a treat to hear. It should also be noted that the Belcea's new cellist (Antoine Lederlin) is very fine indeed. The finished up the first half with a very enjoyable reading of Mozart's oboe quarted. All these works were unknown to me, but enjoyed them very much and shall doubtless be seeking out recordings soon - the Britten were a particular revelation.
The second half featured Mozart's K499 'Hoffmeister' quartet, but with the young Doric Quartet. It was interesting in this regard as it marked out very clearly the difference between good and great musicians. It is perhaps, unfair to judge such a young ensemble against the Belceas (particularly as they must have been hired at relatively short notice) and they played the work very well - it was just that that extra something was missing.
Anyway, the programme is being broadcast on performance on 3 on Thursday the 14th and I thoroughly recommendt it (especially the first half).
The evening saw Abbado's Magic Flute. I have made my reservations concerning his recent recording clear on another thread(bottom of this page). However, I had hoped that live a number of the problems (most notable the shockingly bad recording quality) might vanish, or at least be less obvious.
However, in many ways it confirmed what I don't like about Abbado's reading. Far too ponderous in places (the performance ran to 3 hours excluding intervals), I like my Mozart with a little more zip (especially from a certain Australian who has been mentioned once or twice on this thread) and if it's going to be slow you need to bring something very special and Abbado didn't nearly often enough (in the first half, at least).
However, the singers were by and large better than on the CD. In particular, Eric Cutler's Tamino didn't crack up on the larger arias (as Christoph Strehl does). The three ladies were also significantly better, though checking as I write this I am surprised to learn they are the same (I think the poor recording hurt their voices). The Papageno of Andrea Concetti was not at all bad, and the Papagena of Sylvia Schwartz was excellent when she was being an old lady but then any kind of chemistry vanished from her performance. Georg Zeppenfeld seemed too young for Sarastro (and not a patch on Rene Pape), though he grew on me as the show progressed. I was at a loss to understand the cheers for Erika Miklosa's Queen of the Night, or the fact that she seems so in demand for the role. True, her voice wasn't quite so harsh as on disc (I will deal with this issue properly in due course) but it did, in just the same way, have a slightly gratingly sour quality on the very highest notes. The star, for me, was the Monostatos of Kurt Azesberger who, like on the CD, seemed the only one who could really act. When he was drooling over Pamina, it wasn't necessary to look at the surtitles, so clearly did his voice convey everything.
Seeing it live, and with a very full text, I think it is a much less satisfying work than others of Mozart (in particularly Figaro or Don Giovanni), I can't quite get on with all the constant sexist references (I know, we shouldn't judge by today's standards, but it does seem like they weren't content to merely make a point and then get on with things).
As a production it has gained rave reviews, but, again, I was disappointed. In the positive, it was faithful. But it seemed to have had far too much money. While, on the face of it this might not seem like a bad thing, it meant that every silly idea had ended up on the stage. During the first ten minutes, so much was played for laughs that a little too much of the music got lost. There was fire when there didn't need to be, and then when they were tried by fire there wasn't any. Indeed, the production was odd in this regard - it alternated between absurdly busy and five people sitting in a line singing. But did Pamina really need to be chained up inside a giant tiger's mouth that was wheeled onto the stage? Was it really sensible to have Papageno's bells as a box whose handel he turned (but seemed unable to ever do in time with the music)? I might have taken Tamino more seriously had he not been dressed as the spitting image of Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars (an image that was only enhanced as he stuffed the flute into his belt). Did the three boys constantly need to be flow in and out on a giant bridge that made an annoying rattle? And so on.....
All of which confirms a suspicion I had going in: that Daniele Abbado might struggle to find work as a director, where it not for who his father is.
Things grew on me in the second half: the production was, for the most part, much better and I felt I began to see what Abbado was trying to do with the score - and in places he really did bring out some extraordinary playing from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and some real beauty. It didn't always work - he made the Papageno/Papagena aria of "Pa, pa, pa..." far too tender for my liking with none of the firey passion that Mackerras/Keenlyside/Garrett bring - indeed, doing it in the same sort of way as you would with Pamina and Tamino sort of defeats the point, as the two couples are so very different.
I'm not sorry to have seen it, nor to have heard Abbado in the felsh. But to judge from the reports from the concert performance of Mastersingers, I might have done better to go there.
All of which leaves the vexed issue of why the recording quality of the CD is so awful. I suggested on the other thread that it might be down to some process to remove audience noise. I am now absolutely convinced this is the case. There was a lot of it - a lot of laughs and, in the second half, applaus over the playing. On the CD one cannot here a peep save for in the dying bars and this seems to provide an excellent explanation. I think in a work like this if you are going to do it live, you've got to expect the reaction and live with it - if you want pristine, that is what the studio is for.
So, with the festival over, what does the future hold. Precious little is known about new director Mills or the kind of programme he will bring. It is rumoured he has commissioned a McMillan opera and that he is a fan of early music and we will hear a Monteverdi series. I must say, we could certainly do with some musical change - there has been precious little Haydn, Sibelius, Dvorak and Bach in recent years, but I would not want to lose the core classics and romantics. We await the prelimary information in November with baited breath.
All in all, it has been an extremely good year. Mackerras/Beethoven has been a dream come true. The Messiaen was a revelation. Perhaps the best year since 2003 when we had the Ring and the Mackerras Brahms and the wonderful Heinrich Schiff.
But things won't be quiet here for long. On October 5th, Mackerras opens the SCO season with the Creation. Later that month, Paul Lewis continues his survey of the Beethoven sonatas at the Queen's hall (if you by the series ticket, the best seats in the house are under £12 a concert and even less if you sit elsewhere). To cap it all, November will see the BBC Scottish embarkind on a Sibelius cycle (see other thread).
regards, Tam
Yesterday morning I made it to the Queen's Hall for the first time this festival (save for my visit during the Jazz festival a few weeks back) to hear the Belcea quarted. Well, almost (Mrs Belcea had cried out as she is currently heavily pregnant). However we did get Britten's wonderful Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe, brilliantly played by Stefan Schilli (even if I did feel the need to close my eyes quite a bit). This was then followed by the even fine Phantasy for oboe and string trio. I am already a fan of the Belcea's recordings of the Britten QTs and this disappointed (indeed, I hope they have, or do, record it). A large one movement work, it comes full cicle at the end to finish where it started - it really was a treat to hear. It should also be noted that the Belcea's new cellist (Antoine Lederlin) is very fine indeed. The finished up the first half with a very enjoyable reading of Mozart's oboe quarted. All these works were unknown to me, but enjoyed them very much and shall doubtless be seeking out recordings soon - the Britten were a particular revelation.
The second half featured Mozart's K499 'Hoffmeister' quartet, but with the young Doric Quartet. It was interesting in this regard as it marked out very clearly the difference between good and great musicians. It is perhaps, unfair to judge such a young ensemble against the Belceas (particularly as they must have been hired at relatively short notice) and they played the work very well - it was just that that extra something was missing.
Anyway, the programme is being broadcast on performance on 3 on Thursday the 14th and I thoroughly recommendt it (especially the first half).
The evening saw Abbado's Magic Flute. I have made my reservations concerning his recent recording clear on another thread(bottom of this page). However, I had hoped that live a number of the problems (most notable the shockingly bad recording quality) might vanish, or at least be less obvious.
However, in many ways it confirmed what I don't like about Abbado's reading. Far too ponderous in places (the performance ran to 3 hours excluding intervals), I like my Mozart with a little more zip (especially from a certain Australian who has been mentioned once or twice on this thread) and if it's going to be slow you need to bring something very special and Abbado didn't nearly often enough (in the first half, at least).
However, the singers were by and large better than on the CD. In particular, Eric Cutler's Tamino didn't crack up on the larger arias (as Christoph Strehl does). The three ladies were also significantly better, though checking as I write this I am surprised to learn they are the same (I think the poor recording hurt their voices). The Papageno of Andrea Concetti was not at all bad, and the Papagena of Sylvia Schwartz was excellent when she was being an old lady but then any kind of chemistry vanished from her performance. Georg Zeppenfeld seemed too young for Sarastro (and not a patch on Rene Pape), though he grew on me as the show progressed. I was at a loss to understand the cheers for Erika Miklosa's Queen of the Night, or the fact that she seems so in demand for the role. True, her voice wasn't quite so harsh as on disc (I will deal with this issue properly in due course) but it did, in just the same way, have a slightly gratingly sour quality on the very highest notes. The star, for me, was the Monostatos of Kurt Azesberger who, like on the CD, seemed the only one who could really act. When he was drooling over Pamina, it wasn't necessary to look at the surtitles, so clearly did his voice convey everything.
Seeing it live, and with a very full text, I think it is a much less satisfying work than others of Mozart (in particularly Figaro or Don Giovanni), I can't quite get on with all the constant sexist references (I know, we shouldn't judge by today's standards, but it does seem like they weren't content to merely make a point and then get on with things).
As a production it has gained rave reviews, but, again, I was disappointed. In the positive, it was faithful. But it seemed to have had far too much money. While, on the face of it this might not seem like a bad thing, it meant that every silly idea had ended up on the stage. During the first ten minutes, so much was played for laughs that a little too much of the music got lost. There was fire when there didn't need to be, and then when they were tried by fire there wasn't any. Indeed, the production was odd in this regard - it alternated between absurdly busy and five people sitting in a line singing. But did Pamina really need to be chained up inside a giant tiger's mouth that was wheeled onto the stage? Was it really sensible to have Papageno's bells as a box whose handel he turned (but seemed unable to ever do in time with the music)? I might have taken Tamino more seriously had he not been dressed as the spitting image of Luke Skywalker in the first Star Wars (an image that was only enhanced as he stuffed the flute into his belt). Did the three boys constantly need to be flow in and out on a giant bridge that made an annoying rattle? And so on.....
All of which confirms a suspicion I had going in: that Daniele Abbado might struggle to find work as a director, where it not for who his father is.
Things grew on me in the second half: the production was, for the most part, much better and I felt I began to see what Abbado was trying to do with the score - and in places he really did bring out some extraordinary playing from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and some real beauty. It didn't always work - he made the Papageno/Papagena aria of "Pa, pa, pa..." far too tender for my liking with none of the firey passion that Mackerras/Keenlyside/Garrett bring - indeed, doing it in the same sort of way as you would with Pamina and Tamino sort of defeats the point, as the two couples are so very different.
I'm not sorry to have seen it, nor to have heard Abbado in the felsh. But to judge from the reports from the concert performance of Mastersingers, I might have done better to go there.
All of which leaves the vexed issue of why the recording quality of the CD is so awful. I suggested on the other thread that it might be down to some process to remove audience noise. I am now absolutely convinced this is the case. There was a lot of it - a lot of laughs and, in the second half, applaus over the playing. On the CD one cannot here a peep save for in the dying bars and this seems to provide an excellent explanation. I think in a work like this if you are going to do it live, you've got to expect the reaction and live with it - if you want pristine, that is what the studio is for.
So, with the festival over, what does the future hold. Precious little is known about new director Mills or the kind of programme he will bring. It is rumoured he has commissioned a McMillan opera and that he is a fan of early music and we will hear a Monteverdi series. I must say, we could certainly do with some musical change - there has been precious little Haydn, Sibelius, Dvorak and Bach in recent years, but I would not want to lose the core classics and romantics. We await the prelimary information in November with baited breath.
All in all, it has been an extremely good year. Mackerras/Beethoven has been a dream come true. The Messiaen was a revelation. Perhaps the best year since 2003 when we had the Ring and the Mackerras Brahms and the wonderful Heinrich Schiff.
But things won't be quiet here for long. On October 5th, Mackerras opens the SCO season with the Creation. Later that month, Paul Lewis continues his survey of the Beethoven sonatas at the Queen's hall (if you by the series ticket, the best seats in the house are under £12 a concert and even less if you sit elsewhere). To cap it all, November will see the BBC Scottish embarkind on a Sibelius cycle (see other thread).
regards, Tam
Posted on: 03 September 2006 by Wolf
Nice review Tam. Some times everyone involved do get too carried away. LA wants to produce a first ever Ring cycle, but it's on hold due to the major backer's financial scandal. They want to do it big time with Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic for special effects. I'd rather have a stripped down version with good singers.
Last night I went to the newly restored Getty Villa in Malibu for an evening performance of a greek play in a new translation 'Hyppolytos'. They incorporated an amphitheater in the entry design with the villa as backdrop with second story balcony. It was just marvelous. When the women's chorus came in from top of the stairs and were using vocal like bird calls in arhythmic sequences the echos from the building made for a fantastic effect. Not much music, but it was as close to Greece as I'll ever get.
glenn
Last night I went to the newly restored Getty Villa in Malibu for an evening performance of a greek play in a new translation 'Hyppolytos'. They incorporated an amphitheater in the entry design with the villa as backdrop with second story balcony. It was just marvelous. When the women's chorus came in from top of the stairs and were using vocal like bird calls in arhythmic sequences the echos from the building made for a fantastic effect. Not much music, but it was as close to Greece as I'll ever get.
glenn
Posted on: 03 September 2006 by Tam
Interesting, with regard to the ring. The classic Bayreuth productions of the 50s became so stripped down that there wasn't even a dragon for Siefried to kill. Whichever Wagner it was in charge at the time basically said, when you have the likes of Hans Hotter, Astrid Varney and Wolfgang Windgassen, what more do you need.
That said, it's a tough line, because there are no singers that fine these days and I have been to rings that have suffered in places from insufficiently fine special effects. Then again, I was struck on my DVD of the Met cycle when the dragon looks like some blob from a 50s sci-fi b movie. What's really galling is that it clearly cost an absolute fortune and still looked awful. At least when Scottish Opera's wasn't up to much you could shrug and say, well, they've done remarkably well given how little money they have.
Sounds like a great evening. I love when you get those sorts of effects that you couldn't have on a recording or video. Some of the most magical concerts I've been to have been made so by perfect placement of off stage horns and the like.
regards, Tam
That said, it's a tough line, because there are no singers that fine these days and I have been to rings that have suffered in places from insufficiently fine special effects. Then again, I was struck on my DVD of the Met cycle when the dragon looks like some blob from a 50s sci-fi b movie. What's really galling is that it clearly cost an absolute fortune and still looked awful. At least when Scottish Opera's wasn't up to much you could shrug and say, well, they've done remarkably well given how little money they have.
Sounds like a great evening. I love when you get those sorts of effects that you couldn't have on a recording or video. Some of the most magical concerts I've been to have been made so by perfect placement of off stage horns and the like.
regards, Tam
Posted on: 03 September 2006 by pe-zulu
quote:Originally posted by Tam:
If you'll permit me to wander a litter from topic, a family member, whom I have converted to the harpsichord by means of the Walcha goldbergs was confessing to me that she felt she ought to try Scarlatti thus, rather than on the piano. I have no idea of any good recordings (since I only have Horowitz) but it occurs to me you might.
Dear Tam
Domenico Scarlatti is one of the few baroque composers, who hasn´t conquered my interest for good, despite the fact that I have listened to and played his Sonatas very much some years ago. Well, they are harmless and entertaining, but in the long run I didn´t find much real depth in his music. So I am not up to date as to existing recordings. Well, I have read about them but not heard them, and I can´t recommend recordings I haven´t heard. The other baroque composer, whom I find lacking in depth, is Francois Couperin. But whereas I find Scarlatti way too easy to understand, I find F. Couperin almost impossible to understand.
Thanks for your reports from the festival, I am very courious as to the live Mackerras, as you may figure out.
Kindest regards,
Poul
Posted on: 03 September 2006 by Tam
Dear Poul,
Thanks for that. I know only Horowitz's recordings and it's been ages since I have listened to, but your comment makes me keen to dig them out for another listen.
As to Mackerras live, it really was something (as you may have gathered). But I am more than curious for the broadcasts so I can hear how much was the magic of the hall. I finally got round to ordering a replacement harddisk for my computer, so with luck that will be up and running when the broadcasts begin a week on Monday.
regards, Tam
Thanks for that. I know only Horowitz's recordings and it's been ages since I have listened to, but your comment makes me keen to dig them out for another listen.
As to Mackerras live, it really was something (as you may have gathered). But I am more than curious for the broadcasts so I can hear how much was the magic of the hall. I finally got round to ordering a replacement harddisk for my computer, so with luck that will be up and running when the broadcasts begin a week on Monday.
regards, Tam
Posted on: 09 September 2006 by Tam
quote:Originally posted by Wolf:
LA wants to produce a first ever Ring cycle, but it's on hold due to the major backer's financial scandal. They want to do it big time with Lucas' Industrial Light and Magic for special effects. I'd rather have a stripped down version with good singers.
Dear Glenn,
Thought this might interest (assuming you haven't already heard):
http://www.gramophone.co.uk/newsMainTemplate.asp?storyID=2640&newssectionID=1
regards, Tam